My Painting Holiday - Brian Pleasants

"Are you sure ?" I said... [as I got up off the floor]. "Why not? " replied my wife, " you've been wanting to return ever since our trip a couple of years ago".

Craig Penny was offering an art tour based in Siem Reap for ten days in the month of July. Before she could change her mind I made my initial contact with Team Craig/Glen. Then began a term of anticipation, realization and satisfaction from my departure to the present moment as I begin this report sitting in the departure lounge of Siem Reap airport.

Glen from Painting Holidays.com.au, a student in Craig's class proposed a joint venture to make available art tours to Siem Reap, Cambodia. With Glen's business interests in the area and extensive knowledge of Cambodia history and way of life coupled with Craig's expertise as a teacher a new venture was set up and launched five years ago. I and others have benefited tremendously from this partnership.

There were many highlights during the ten day experience not least the one on my first day. After two flights I arrived relatively rested. Immigration required a visa and heeding the early advice from Glen I duly presented a passport picture with my completed paperwork and was amazed to be walking through to only ten minutes later. Met by Craig the journey by Tuk Tuk took 20 minutes or so through paddies with early stages of rice growth and a series of roadside entrepreneurs selling a range of goods from trinkets to coconuts.

Then came highlight number 1 - The Hotel. This boutique residence accommodates just 15 guest rooms. Having experienced hotels in many countries over the years I have to rate this place one of the best.

There were many more highlights to follow.Because I was late in registering I arrived a day after the rest of the party. For that reason the Welcome Dinner was delayed to enable my participation. I was in the company of six ladies including a couple who will be well known to many members of our society as they manage Hampton Art supplies; Donna and Judy. Next morning began an "orientation day" with a small fleet of Tuk Tuks driving in convoy to various places of interest that included a temple, a typical market and a craft studio with young artists producing a variety of objects with great skill. Craig had briefed us earlier and suggested we make good use of sketch books to record the sights along the way 'en plain air'.

One of the hotel’s family size rooms had been converted into a studio. Just outside that room on the balcony overlooking the pool, a large table had also been covered with a protective sheet to enable the watercolorists to work horizontal mode. We had a tutorial next morning with Craig demonstrating his undoubted skill with both watercolor and acrylic using a photograph taken the previous day. He then issued copies of that same picture and we spent the rest of the day using our own particular medium with Craig continually circling to offer advice and encouragement.

The days followed with a mixture of "work" (information gathering) and “free time”.The program included visits to the many different historic sites that surround Siem Reap and included the famous Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm temples. For me, every visit was a highlight and every workday was so rewarding being in the company of like-minded people all so enthusiastic to improve their knowledge and technique. Craig was a constant source of information and encouragement. His 'partner in crime' Glen, was so knowledgeable about the country, the history and the people.

In constant attendance for our exploratory trips were temple guides Mr Sambath and Mr Bunsarng. Both Cambodian registered temple guides with perfect English and so full of information about the building and history of Angkor Wat and the famous Ta Prohm temples. They were able to recount stories of more recent time with the horrors of the Pol Pot atrocities from which the country is bravely recovering.Glen had suggested that we include in our spending money lots of five and one dollar US bills. Reil is the local currency and you can get all sorts of things for small multiples of the American dollar. For example when I chose to go off for the day to work on my own when we had a "free time” would negotiate a price before going and would agree with my Tuk Tuk driver on $21 but always finished rounding it up to 25 as the negotiated fare seemed so low for 5 or 6 hours work. You should never need to pay more than $8 for the most fulfilling and satisfying meal while a bunch of bananas cost only cents.

At the end of every day, whatever the activity there would be the most welcome opportunity to dive into the deep end of the delightful swimming pool. Surrounded by exotic growth including frangipani, the loungers were always laid out with fresh towels. Included in the program was an opportunity to take advantage of a "full body massage". Needless to say I took up this offer as I believe most of the group did. The hotel staff are so polite and always greeted the guests with their names. How they remembered them I don't know; sometimes I have a problem remembering my own.

The hotel was less than ten minutes from downtown Siem Reap, just a couple of bucks by Tuk Tuk. Night or day it was always bustling especially in the later hours with Pub Street brilliantly lit with flashing neon. I took a trip in there one night with Glen and Craig to experience foot massage then a meal in a bar pulsating with disco type music. I was to lose my hearing aids later but certainly didn’t need them that night.

Every day was memorable. I personally benefited from the experience with a noticeable difference in my watercolour work. Craig works quickly (never takes more than an hour to complete a demo!) using brushes full of colour with noticeable differences between light and dark to create impact. Years ago I was given an Arches volume with 15 sheets of 300gsm paper, size 300x400mm, obviously waiting for the right time to make good use of it.I filled every page and a couple of times on the back for good measure.

Could I suggest you seriously consider spending the grandchildren’s inheritance and treat yourselves and join in with Craig’s simple philosophy in art.

“I like to think that to paint a successful painting is not so much to have tamed the beast rather to have been taken along for the ride and still be there at the end of the experience. For me painting is like life; giving yourself the skills, knowledge and integrity to be free to take what is thrown your way.You don’t need to tame and control it for magic to happen….you just need to be there at the end…” Craig Penny, Artist

In that way you could leave a couple of pictures behind as you paint your way into heaven (or the other place).

Other Painting Holiday guests comments..."It is nothing like I imagined - we have had such a fantastic painting holiday..." Judy & Donna"I want to come again and bring my partner - a wonderful artists holiday experience..." Loretta"I have travelled the world and Siem Reap is one place I would love to come back to..." Sandy